Two young men were rescued by the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) from a motorboat that capsized off Isabela City, Basilan on Monday, Oct. 21.
The PCG identified the rescued individuals as 20-year-old Junaid Maliki and 21-year-old Badai Maliki, both from Barangay Lampinigan, Isabela City, Basilan.
A report from the PCG said that the motorboat was loaded with 30 gallons of water when it overturned in the vicinity waters off Lampinigan Island due to strong winds and big waves.
The boat carrying the two passengers was en route to Lampinigan Island when it capsized.
The incident was reported to the PCG by one Patta Jainal. The PCG immediately dispatched a search and rescue (SAR) team to find the distressed boat.
Fortunately, the SAR team sighted the capsized motorboat and the passengers.
The responding PCG personnel towed the boat to the shoreline of Barangay Riverside in Isabela City as well as the two passengers to the Isabela City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (CDRRMO) for further assessment.
Sea travel suspensions
Meanwhile, the PCG suspended sea travels in Catanduanes and Camarines Norte due to rough sea condition caused by Tropical Depression “Kristine”.
The suspension was formalized through the issuance of sea travel advisories by the Coast Guard Station Catanduanes and Coast Guard Station Camarines Norte, which were signed by their respective commanders, Lt. Junior Grade Kenny Villafuerte and Lt. Junior Grade Jason Lavadia, respectively.
Kristine was last located at 870 km east of Eastern Visayas as of 11 a.m. Monday.
Tropical Cyclone Warning Signal No. 1 was hoisted in Catanduanes and as such, the Coast Guard Station Catanduanes declared that “all vessels/watercraft, regardless of type and tonnage, plying within [the] province of Catanduanes are hereby suspended except taking shelter in known sheltering areas.”
Kristine was also forecasted to bring moderate to strong winds associated with the eastern seaboard of Bicol with moderate to rough sea water conditions.
“In this regard, trips of any type of vessel/watercraft with 250 GT [gross tonnage] and below within the sea waters of Camarines Norte [are] hereby suspended, while larger vessels are alerted against big waves,” the Coast Guard Station Camarines Norte announced.